Simulated platform shoe



March 3, 1953 A. TUCCERI 2,629,942

SIMULATED PLATFORM SHOE Original Filed Nov. 1, 1950 f lave/M01 did/30302 56001927 Patented Mar. 3, 1953 SIMULATED PLATFORM SHOE Anthony Tucceri, Northampton, Mass.

Original application November 1, 1950, Serial No. 193,369. Divided and this application May 17,

1951, Serial No. 226,840

1 Claim.

1 This invention relates to shoes and in particular to shoes of the California type having a simulated platform constructed in accordance with the method described in my pending application.

for Shoe and Method of Manufacture, Serial No. 193,369, filed November 1, 1950, on which this application is a division.

The California type shoe enjoys wide popularity for its casual appearance and yet it has certain inherent disadvantages in that its bottom structure is rigid, thus inhibiting free fiexure of the foot, is composed of materials which are quite frequently irritating to the bottom of the foot, and requires skilled lasting if shoes are to be produced of good workmanshi and uniform appearance. An object of this invention is to provide a shoe construction which will afford the appearance of a typical California type platform shoe and yet which will have a conventional bottom structure, and hence will avoid the disadvantages of the platform structure. Other objects are to provide a construction in which at least a part thereof may be preformed or fabricated and incorporated during the manufacture a a unit, thus eliminating the need for skilled lasting operators, and of such construction as to conceal imperfect, stitching operations and poorly crimped vamps. Still further objects are to provide a structure which is of greater durability than the prior platform shoe in that there is less likelihood of the bottom pulling away from the upper, which is susceptible of decorative treatment and is of great uniformity in appearance.

As herein illustrated, the shoe has a continuous or open upper and a bottom structure including a sock. lining, midsole and outsole in the order named. A cuff extends peripherally of the shoe substantially perpendicular to the bottom structure and is covered by a wrapper folded about the cuff with one marginal edge attached to the upper inside of the cuff and the other interposed between the midsole and the outsole. The cuff may be attached to the peripheral edge of the midsole along its lower edge. Wherever, the lower margin of the upper meets the bottom unit it is attached to both the sock lining and the wrapper being sandwiched therebetween. Preferably the upper is also attached to the cuff near the upper edge thereof by a continuous line of stitching which connects it to the wrapper and which lies just below the top of the cuff on the inside so as to be concealed between the cuff and the upper. A filler may be used between the sock lining and the midsole and also between the midsole and outsole and preferably all of the contacting surfaces are adhesively united.

As further illustrated, the midsole and attached cuff constitute a novel midsole unit in which the flange or cuff stands substantially perpendicular to its upper surface. The flange in one form is a narrow strip of relatively stiif material resting along one edge upon the upper marginal edge of the midsole and is anchored thereto by a flexible reinforcing strip folded about it with one margin cemented to its upper surface and the other folded beneath and cemented to its bottom surface. In another form the flange strip is placed against the peripheral edge of the midsole with its lower edge flush with its underside and the reinforcing strip is folded about it and cemented to the midsole at both the top and bottom. In a third form the flange strip is L-shaped in cross section, the leg of the strip is placed against the peripheral edge of the midsole and the foot beneath the midsole and the foot is then stitched to the midsole. A reinforcing strip may or may not be applied to the leg portion. Finally the flange strip may have at its lower edge flaps formed by splitting the lower edge, one of which is folded at right angles to the other and adhesively joined to the top of the midsole, and the other of which is adhesively secured to the edge of the midsole and terminates flush with its bottom.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the forepart of the shoe at the toe;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the prefabricated midsole unit prior to incorporation into the shoe;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of one form of flange construction;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a second form of flange construction;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a third form of flange construction;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation to smaller scale of an alternative form of shoe embodying the construction of this invention;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on the line 9-4! of Fig. 8 to larger scale; and

Fig. 10 is a vertical section of a fourth form of flange construction.

Referring to the drawings (Fig. l) a shoe embodying the construction of this invention is shown as comprising an upper including a. vamp 3 l forming the forepart and quarters l2 forming the rear part, a bottom including a sole i4 and heel l6 and a cuff 18 at the junction of the bottom and the upper extending around the entire shoe.

The shoe is constructed by first prefabricating or forming a structural member (Fig. 4) consisting of a midsole 20 having at its peripheral edge a vertical flange 22. The unit is prepared by securely attaching to the marginal edge of the midsole a comparatively stiff narrow strip of suitable material 24, the latter being placed on the upper surface of the midsole with its lower edge resting on the marginal edge of the midsole as illustrated in Fig. 6. A reinforcing member 26 is then wrapped about the strip 24 and its edges 28 and 30 are secured respectively to the upper and lower surfaces of the midsole for example by adhesive. Adhesive is also employed between the contacting surfaces of the strip 24 and the reinforcing member 26. The marginal edges of the reinforcing member 26 are pinked as at 32' so that as it is applied it will follow the contour of the midsole smoothly. The midsole may be leather, composition, Or reinforced paper board, for example paper board to one side of which is cemented gem duck. The flange strip may also be composed of leather, composition or paper board and the reinforcing strip applied thereto may be gem duck or the like.

The flange 22 may also be formed by using a somewhat deeper strip 24a (Fig. '7) which is placed against the peripheral edge of the midsole 20 with its lower edge flush with the bottom of the midsole. to the midsole in the same manner as just de scribed with reference to Fig. 6 by the application of a reinforcing member 26, the edges 28 and 30 of which are adhesively secured to the top and bottom surfaces of the midsole. As in the previous case, the contacting surfaces of the strip and reinforcing member are joined throughout with adhesive and the reinforcing member is united to the edge of the midsole where it passes over it.

A third way of making the flange 221s to provide a. strip of L-shaped cross section (Fig. having a vertical leg 24b engaged with the under side of the midsole. The foot 240 is anchored to the midsole by a line of stitches 32. Adhesive is i also employed between the foot and under side of the midsole and between the leg and the edge of the midsole. In this particular construction the vertically extending leg portion of the strip preferably is not covered by a reinforcing member although it is to be understood that such a reinforcing member may be applied if desired.

A still further form of flange strip is shown in Fig. in which the lower edge of the strip 240 is split to provide two flaps a and 25b. ihe flap 25a is folded outwardly at right angles to the strip and adhesively attached to the upper marginal edge of the midsole. The flap 25b is The strip 24a is then anchored adhesively attached to the peripheral edge of the midsole and its lower edge terminates flush with the bottom.

While the flange in each instance is illustrated as being of uniform height around the entire shoe, it is within the scope of the invention to increase or decrease this height or vary its height at different places. For example, for both decorative and functional purposes, in the finished shoe the flange may be heightened at the heel and constitute in the finished shoe, a counter which when covered, as will hereinafter appear,

will constitute a back for the heel of the foot. The flange may also be increased in height at the instep. If the upper is continuous, the modification of the flange in the foregoing respect will be principally decorative, although it will add stiffness to the shoe. If the upper is of the open or discontinuous type, the increase in the flange will serve to hold the shoe against lateral movement with respect to the foot, especially when the upper consists principally of cross straps.

Having prepared the midsole unit, a shoe such as shown in Fig. l is constructed as follows. A suitable upper l0 isselected and a wrapper strip 36 is attached to its marginal edge so that an edge of the wrapper strip registers with the edge of the upper by a line of stitching 40 spaced inwardly from the edges and parallel thereto. The distance of the line of stitching 40 from the edges should be slightly less than the height of the flange 24. The registering edges of the upper and wrapper are now joined to the peripheral edge of a sock lining 34 by a second line of stitching 38. The sock lining is selected so as to be of slightly less area than the midsole. The prestitched upper, sock lining and wrapper are placed over a last, bottom side up. In this position the registering edges of the sock lining, upper and wrapper project substantially vertically upward, the upper extending downwardly about the last body, the sock lining extending across the bottom of the last and the wrapper hanging freely downwardly around the outside of the upper. A midsole unit of suitable size is then selected and placed flange down over the assembled upper, sock lining and Wrapper so that the flange 22 embraces the outside of the wrapper and so that the midsole 20 rests against the registering edges of the sock lining, upper and wrapper. A suitable adhesive is applied to the surface of the midsole or to the bottom of the sock lining before assembling the parts together. The lower edge of the wrapper strip 36 is then folded outwardly over the lower edge of the flange upwardly along its outer surface and inwardly over the bottom of the midsole whereupon its inwardly extending portion 44 (Fig. 3) is cemented or otherwise attached to the midsole. Manual or mechanical lasting operations may be employed to wrap the wrapper smoothly about the flange and over the bottom of the midsole. Preferably a filler 46 is placed between the sock lining and the midsole. This may be in the form of a plastic composition or a continuous member and should be placed in the shallow cavity of the sock lining before the midsole unit is applied. A filler 48 may also be placed on the under side of the midsole within the area defined by the inner edges of the wrapper so as to level the bottom for the application of the outside [4. The latter is placed over the filler and inwardly directed edges or the wrapper and secured thereto by means of adhesive. As thus constructed, the wrapped flange constitutes a continuous cuff l8 extending around the entire shoe. The wrapper and upper may be of similar and/or'contrasting colors and of like or dissimilar materials. If the flange varies in height, the wrapper will have to be made wider at corresponding places so as completely to cover the flange.

It may be pointed out here that the wrapper strip may be made very thin, since it does not carry any ofthe strain necessary to anchor the upper to the bottom structure. In fact, the wrapper strip may be so thin that it will conform easily to the upper edge of a flange, which has been scalloped, or otherwise modified to give it a decorative appearance. It is also because of the fact that the wrapper need not be stressed in the formation of the shoe, that the lasting, that is folding of the upper over the flange and beneath the midsole, may be easily accomplished manually.

An open toe and heel shoe embodying the same principles of construction as related here tofore is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. In this case the vamp H3 is open at the tip of the toe and the quarters !2 are abbreviated so as to provide what is commonly called a sling back heel. The bottom consists of a sole M and heel l6 and the cuff extends around the entire shoe. The vamp I0 is joined to the sock lining and wrapper in the same manner as described above, that is where its lower marginal edge reaches down to the midsole. At the tip of the toe and around the heel opening however, the structure departs somewhat as shown in Fig. 9. As there illustrated, the edge of the wrapper 36 is joined directly to the edge of the sock lining since there is no upper material extending down to the bottom. The wrapper is bent over the flange 22 as in the previous structure and inwardly over the bottom of the midsole where it is secured by adhesive. This may be accomplished manually or by a lasting apparatus as previously indicated. A filler 46 may be used between the sock lining and the midsole and a filler 48 between the midsole and the outsole as heretofore described. In this case, the wrapped flange constitutes a continuous vertical cuff l8 extending around the bottom structure, filling in the portions thereof where the upper material has been cut away, and embraces the foot, particularly the heel, sufficiently to prevent lateral movement of the bottom structure with reference to the foot.

With a closed upper, as described above, a last is usually employed during the assembly operation. With an open construction however, it is not necessary to use a last, as the assembly may be easily accomplished by first applying an adhesive to the surface of the midsole and then manually pressing the sock lining into engagement with the midsole so that it lies smoothly over the midsole with the wrapper engaged with the inside of the flange. Thereafter the wrapper may be folded over the outside of the flange and inwardly beneath the midsole. This affords considerable advantage, since it does not tie up a large number of lasts.

It is also possible with an open upper, for example an upper consisting principally of straps, to join the ends of the latter to the flange following application of the sock lining and wrapper to the midsole unit. That is, the upper may be omitted until the sock lining and wrapper are joined to the midsole unit, whereupon the ends of the straps or other abbreviated portions of the upper may be placed against the inside of the flange and anchored thereto, for example by decorative studs or staples spaced along the flange and extending therethrough and through the upper material.

The cuff 18 as described, simulates the conventional platform sole in appearance and at the same time eliminates the inherent undesirable features of the platform sole, since the shoe has the flexibility of a conventional bottom structure.

The provision of the wrapper affords a convenient means for securing complementary and/or contrasting color combinations between the upper and the bottom serves as a storm welt in that it forms a continuous seal at the junction between the upper and the bottom structure, affords a strong anchorage between the parts, and also serves to hide or conceal inexpert stitching at the junction of the upper with the bottom.

The midsole unit 29 may be suplied as an article manufactured to shoe manufacturers in various sizes for use in the construction of this kind of shoe. The midsole elements may be made of reinforced paper board or light leather, for example by applying to one surface thereof a layer of duck, and the flanges may be formed by a narrow strip of paper board or leather covered by a strip of duck.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a shoe a composite bottom structure including inner, intermediate and outer elements, said outer element constituting a conventional outsole, said intermediate element constituting a midsole and said inner element constituting a conventional thin flexible sock lining, a stifl cufi like flange fast to said midsole rising therefrom substantially perpendicular to the outsole, said flange extending peripherally of the bottom of the midsole and an upper and wrapper strip attached to the sock lining, the marginal edges of the sock lining upper and one edge of the wrapper strip being united so that their edge faces are flush and abut the upper surface of the midsole at its margin just inside the flange, said wrapper strip extending upwardly from its junction with the upper and sock lining on the inner face of the flange, over the upper edge of the flange downwardly over the outer face of the flange and inwardly between the midsole and the outsole.

ANTHONY TUCCERI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,074,579 Fesl Mar. 23, 1937 2,160,692 Auerbach May 30, 1939 2,464,355 Starner Mar. 15, 1949 2,526,925 Atlas Oct. 24, 1950 2,557,546 Kleven June 19, 1951 

